


2. "Did we get them?"

by T_Hurricane



Series: Voltron: Stories of Klance (Fan Fiction Library: Challenge #1) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Kidnapping, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Bounty Hunters, Electrocution, Fan Fiction Library - Challenge, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Happy Ending, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Keith has a plan, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Mild Gore, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Restraints, Shooting, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/T_Hurricane/pseuds/T_Hurricane
Summary: Keith only wanted to train for a bit while the others were sleeping.He didn't expect their rooms to be completely abandoned when he returned, and he didn't expect that there could be intruders in the Castle of Lion.
Series: Voltron: Stories of Klance (Fan Fiction Library: Challenge #1) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175054
Kudos: 33
Collections: Fan Fiction Library (Discord) Challenge #1: 20 Prompts





	2. "Did we get them?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> For the second prompt of the writing challenge hosted on my Discord server, the **[Fan Fiction Library](https://discord.gg/RuSjgxC68t) **: "Did we get it/him/her/them?!"

„ **Did we get them?** And really all of them?“ the taller of the two Galra asked his companion. 

„Yes, all five Paladins and that advisor guy that usually stays on the ship. The same that always showed up at the Voltron show“ the smaller replied with a grin. 

„Who would have thought that it would be so easy? All we really had to do was smuggle the gas inside the air ventilation system while they were busy performing and then, when they would least expect it - strike“ the taller said. 

„Come on Qualdrik, I want to get this over with while they are still knocked out. The gas isn‘t affecting us, like we calculated, but we still don‘t know how long it will work on these species called ‚Humans‘ and on the Alteans“ the smaller said. 

„You‘re right Aerynx. Let’s go“ Qualdrik said.

The two Galrans resumed in binding the wrists and ankles of Allura, Pidge, Coran, Shiro, Hunk and Lance together. They bound their hands behind their backs and used another rope to tie them to their hips - now, even if they were awake, they could most definitely not have freed themselves on their own. 

Aerynx and Qualdrik then threw one Paladin - Allura and Pidge, since they appeared to be the lightest - over their shoulders and grabbed the rest of their prisoners by their ankles and simply dragged them along with them. 

While they headed to the docking bay where they had intruded the Castle, they chattered away about what they would do with all the money the bounty of the six would bring them. 

They didn’t notice Keith spying on them from behind the corner of a far away corridor.

###### 

__

_A bit earlier_

__

„End training sequence!“ Keith panted through gritted teeth, standing in the middle of the training room and supporting himself with his hands on his knees. 

Three destroyed training bots were enough training for one night. 

„At least that hasn’t changed“ Keith mumbled to himself while he went to the side where he had left his water pouch. 

He drained it in a few gulps, but when he put it down after his thirst had been taken care of, he frowned. 

„What the…“ he asked into the now silent room. 

He gently raised his head and sniffed. 

He hand’t noticed before because of his own… fragrance from training, but now, with his mind not fixed on the training, he noticed the difference. 

The air had an oddly sweet smell, a smell that almost reminded him of warm fruit tea with lots of honey in it. 

„Strange“ he mumbled, but then again, he didn’t dwell on it for long - it smelled faintly like one of the meals Hunk had made once, and maybe the others had just had that for dinner? 

He had arrived for a visit after he had heard of their glorious Voltron show. They had sat together in the lounge and made fun of the fact that Allura had acted as Keith, and he had felt relaxed for the first time since… since a long time. 

He hadn’t even noticed how much the others had apparently missed him, too. 

It made him happy that they had - it only reassured him that they were still his family. 

He had somehow had the urge to release some energy since that was what he would usually be doing at night instead of talking, so he had waited until everyone was fast asleep before he hit the training deck. 

„Alright, dim lights“ Keith said after a while and left the room after the lights had been dimmed to the normal setting of the night mode. 

Keith reached the corridor with their rooms, but it was then when he realized that something was off. 

„Hunk?“ he asked cautiously as he saw the first room’s door - Hunk’s room - wide open. 

„Uhm, everything okay?“ he whispered into the silence, not wanting to wake the others with shouting. 

No answer came. 

„Hunk, uhm, I’m gonna come in, okay? You better not be naked“ Keith said nervously and in an attempt to ease the tense feeling that was starting to build up in his shoulders. 

Still, no reply. 

Keith then cautiously and slowly wandered into the room, but he only found it empty. Even after checking the bathroom, Hunk was nowhere to be found. 

„Maybe he’s just off to the kitchen…“ Keith said to himself. 

„Yeah, he’s just in the kitchen for a mid night snack and simply forgot to close his door. You’re making yourself crazy, Keith“ Keith mumbled to himself. 

He stepped out of the room and continued is way to his own at the other end of the corridor - but when he came past the doors of Lance, Shiro and Pidge, they were all open too, and none of them was in their rooms. 

„What the…“ Keith started to say, worry etched into his voice. 

He was just about to call out for his friends loudly when he heard someone talk. 

He thanked every celestial being that might be out there for him following and trusting his instinct and he approached with caution, his knife elongated to a sword. 

„You‘re right Aerynx. Let’s go“ he heard someone - someone whose voice he didn’t know - say. 

Then, there were two dull sounds. The voices - two, as he could make out - were now going further away from where he stood, and there was a strange noise that accompanied them. 

It sounded as if they were dragging something heavy behind them. 

Keith risked a glance around the corner - and when he grasped what was going on, the blood in his veins ran cold. He had to suppress an angry growl at the sight of his friends knocked unconscious and dragged over the ground. 

„I can’t wait to buy that new cruiser“ one of the Galrans chatted with the other. 

„With the money we make off of this you can buy 20 and still have enough money to never have to work again“ the smaller replied.

„Who do you think will pay more for them? The Empire or the entertainers that run the pit fights in the arena? I heard one of the Paladins already spent around a year there and managed to survive every fight. I think they call him the ‚Champion‘, or the ‚Witches favorite‘“ the bigger replied. 

„It doesn’t matter, as long as we get paid enough. I’m not planning to run an auction with these“ the taller just grunted. 

Keith could barely hold back at hearing the two intruders talk about his friends in that way. 

„Patience yields focus“ he whispered his mantra instead, and after a few seconds of simply focusing on his breathing he was able to think clearly. 

They were apperantly two opponents - and his friends were unconscious and hopefully not further injured, but if he were to fight them now, he couldn’t guarantee for their safety. 

He knew that they could have only infiltrated through the docking bay, and that they would be slow with the additional weight of the others.

And he was at home in the castle, which meant that he knew very well how to reach the docking bay long before they did - and he already knew of some things he could do to make their way longer.

„Gotta play this smart then“ he only said and tried to comfort himself. Then, he ran back from where he came from. 

He reached the training room in what felt like only seconds. He immediately sprinted to the control console - so thankful that he had paid attention when he had once been snatched up by Coran and forced to help him with the Castle controls and in maintaining every control station. 

He wasted no time and searched for the menu he needed. 

„There“ he mumbled, relieved to have found it. 

„Now where…“ he continued to talk to himself while he scrolled through the various options displayed before him. 

He had to outplay them. He had to be smarter than his opponents while not endangering the (relative) safety of his friends. 

He wasn’t the tech genius Pidge was, and he wasn’t the engineering mastermind Coran and Hunk were. He didn’t have magic like Allura, and he wasn’t as experienced as Shiro.

He would have to thank Lance for the inspiration. 

„There. Who would want to kidnap someone on board of their haunted ship?“ he asked himself and pressed the button that would finalize his plan. 

Then, he opened up the menu for the air ventilation system and let it run on full power, hoping that it would filter out the gas that had knocked out the others. 

Keith took a deep inhale and looked over at the screen that showed the security feed of the Castle. He would need to hurry. 

„Let’s do this“ he just said and pressed the button. 

Immediately, everything went pitch black. He activated his Blade of Marmora mask - equipped with a night vision mode - and sprinted off to arrive at the docking bay before the intruders did. 

When he arrived, he already saw the intruders from afar. They had activated the headlamps on their helmets and were scanning their surroundings with every step, looking around from time to time. 

„Activate the door shutdown protocol“ Keith whispered into the docking bay, and the ships computer - set on mute by Keith to not reveal what was actually going on - set to obey his command. 

Then, one after another, the doors leading from the main hall closed themselves with a loud whoosh and a bang. 

„What the hell is that?“ Qualdrik asked. 

„Nothing important. We’re almost there“ the taller just replied. 

„Activate training bot marching protocol“ Keith whispered again.

„Shit, we have to hurry!“ Qualdrik let out a rather panicked shout and began to sprint only a few moments after Keith’s command. 

Aerynx had just inhaled to ask his companion why they had to hurry when he turned around and made out a few faint lights just behind the light cone of his headlights. 

„What the…“ he asked, but he was interrupted as the last door to another corridor closed itself with a loud bang. 

Every door to rooms and side corridors has been closed now, they could only head to the docking bay or follow the main corridor back. 

„Shit“ he cursed, turned around to look at the docking bay and started to follow the other Galran. 

„What are those things?“ he panted as soon as he had reached his companion and he was relieved when they finally reached the bay and when their ship came into sight. 

„No idea, but it’s giving me the chills. Let’s just finish this job as fast as we can“ the taller replied. 

Keith had hidden himself behind one of the Altean pods and was now waiting to activate the last step of his plan. 

„Only a bit longer…“ he mumbled under his breath, but just before he could think that they wouldn’t make it in time, the five training droids he had commanded entered the docking bay. 

The door fell shut behind them. 

„Stop. And. Surrender“ they said in a mechanical voice, and the sentence spoken by the five in the exact same tone sent shudders even through Keith. 

The two Galrans turned around and raised their weapons. 

„What are these things? Did we trigger some silent alarm?“ the taller, Aerynx, asked. 

The bots stood in one row, giving off no light except for their eyes shimmering in a soft blue and they were being illuminated by the intruder’s flashlights, now that they were looking their direction. 

„Stop. And. Surrender“ the bots said in sync again, and they all took a step towards the two. 

„Just shoot them down!“ the smaller yelled and put Pidge down so that he had both of his hands free. The other followed his example and they soon began to open fire. The bots dodged their blasts but made no move to attack them. 

Keith got himself ready and changed his mask from night vision to the so called ‚desert‘ mode. 

He smirked. His plan was going to work. 

„Activate al lights with maximum brightness“ he whispered, and again, the computer obeyed his command. 

The room turned painfully bright from one second to another, and the two Galrans screamed in surprise and pain. Their sensitive eyes were overwhelmed with the sudden brightness and they both had to close their eyes and shield them with their paws. 

Keith had waited for that exact moment. 

He leapt out of his hiding place and attacked the intruders from behind. 

The first one he reached - the taller one - had no chance to even react before Keith slammed the hilt of his sword onto the temple of the Galran. 

He slumped down and remained motionless even when Keith took a second to make sure that he had really been knocked out. 

„Aerynx?“ the other asked, having heard the commotion and his companion falling to the ground. 

He managed to open his eyes just in time to see Keith leaping at him. The Galran managed to dodge the attack and raised his blaster in Keith’s direction, firing blindly and until the clip of his rifle was empty in hopes of hitting him. 

He grinned, satisfied when he heard a chocked sound to his left. 

„We really missed one, huh? Why didn’t the gas not knock you out?“ Qualdrik hissed while he opened his eyes. The lights were still bright, but he was able to see again. 

He threw his blaster to the side and reached over his shoulder. He then grabbed the handle of something Keith couldn’t make out, but when the Galran raised his new weapon against Keith, he knew what that was. 

The Galran was holding a hammer made out of some sort of electricity. 

„Oh, did I get you?“ the Galran teased while looking down on Keith who was kneeling a few meters away. 

He was pressing his free hand to his thigh - where one of the shots had torn cleanly through him when he hadn’t been able to dodge it in time. 

„Aww, I’m sorry. But I won’t let you stand in the way to getting my bounty“ he said with false pity and with the crackling hammer in his hand. 

„And I won’t let you hurt my friends“ Keith said through gritted teeth and slowly stood up.

He changed into a fighting stance, and with the next exhale, he pushed the pain away from him. 

He’d have time for that later. 

„I wonder who you are. Maybe, if I let you life when I’m done with you, you’ll add a little bonus to our profit. I’m sure the arena would pay highly for one of your spirit“ Qualdrik smirked and made a step forward. 

„God luck trying“ Keith only said and lurched forward to attack. The Galran reacted pretty quickly, but Keith had seen the surprise in his eyes. 

The other had underestimated him - something that he would come to regret soon as he found himself at the tip of Keith’s sword with his neck after a brutal duel, his hammer long gone. 

They were both panting heavily, and they had both injured each other. 

Aerynx was littered in cuts from Keith’s sword, and Keith couldn’t feel his left shoulder anymore where the hammer had electrocuted him. His entire arm felt numb, but he had won.

„Surrender“ Keith said. 

„You know that that’s not gonna happen. Do you have the gut’s to finish it, boy?“ the Galran just smirked. Then, he dove to the side and reached out for Lance, lying closest to them. 

„No!“ Keith cried out, and just in time before the clawed hand could touch Lance, Keith rammed his sword through the Galran’s chest from behind him. 

„You do have the guts in you then…“ the Galran only laughed out before he crumpled to the floor, all life having left him before he hit the ground.

Keith yanked his sword free from him and cleaned the blade on the Galran’s clothes. He then shrunk it back to it’s knife form and put it back into it’s sheath. After that, Keith opted to drag the corpse a few meters away - he didn’t want the others to wake up and face a corpse. 

Keith had killed before - it was unpleasant, but he would do anything to protect his friends. 

He was still panting and it wasn’t easy with only one working arm, but when he was done he turned around to take care of the first Galran. 

He got to work and tied him up as best as he could, using the same technique they had used to bind the others. 

Keith was just finishing tying the last knot, holding one end of the rope between his teeth, when he heard something from behind him. 

„Ugh… why is it so fuckin’ bright?“ Lance asked with a groan. 

„Right. Dim the lights to normal settings“ Keith said into the room, and again, the setting readjusted to his command. 

„Since when does the Castle take orders from you?“ Lance asked while blinking slowly. 

„Made it listen for me“ Keith just replied and limped over to Lance. 

„You okay?“ he asked him while cutting through Lance’s restraints. 

„Uhm.. Yeah? I think? Why am I tied up though?“ Lance just asked and sat up slowly. 

„Ow. And why does my back hurt so much?“ he said and carefully moved his torso. 

„Probably because they dragged you all the way here“ Keith just replied. 

„…They.... What?“ Lance asked, seemingly more awake. 

Around them, Shiro and Pidge also began to stir. 

„Yeah, they. Two… intruders. They knocked you out with some kind of gas they put in the ventilation system. I guess it’s finally being filtered out“ Keith said and wobbly pointed to the Galran he had tied up with his working hand. 

„What?“ Lance shouted now, suddenly highly alert and awake. 

„Don’t worry, he won’t go anywhere. Had to get ...rid of the other one, tho“ Keith said with a frown. 

Why was it so hard to talk?

„I should cut the others free, too“ he forced himself to say and tried to stand up. 

A sharp pain shot through his thigh, and with a cry of pain, he fell back to the ground. Everything around him was swaying, and he was barely able to catch himself with his good arm. 

„Keith?“ Shiro asked weakly, still caught in the process of waking up, but his soft voice was drowned out by Lance’s shout. 

„Keith!“ he almost cursed and slowly stood up on wobbly feet to get to his friend. 

„Shit, you’re bleeding! Why didn’t you say something?“ he asked worriedly. 

„I had t’ get you guys free…?“ he only asked with a slightly slurred voice. 

Lance expression softened at that. 

„Okay. Just let me take care of it while you rest? First, I’m going to bandage your leg though“ he said calmly and went to retrieve a medical kit they had stored in the docking bay in case of emergencies. 

He was back by Keith’s side in a few moments, but now, with the adrenaline fading because his friends were safe, it was suddenly hard for Keith to keep his eyes open. 

„Hey, don’t pass out on me yet!“ Lance said and gently tapped his cheek. 

„S’ry“ Keith replied weakly. 

He cried out in pain when Lance bandaged the wound with enough pressure to help in stopping the bleeding, but not cutting off the circulation to his leg. 

„Keith!“ Shiro shouted ad he heard Keith’s pained cry. He wiggled around until he managed to turn around to face them. 

„Shit, what happened?“ Pidge now asked, being more awake by the second. 

„Apparently we were all knocked out by gas and kidnapped. Keith saved us“ Lance explained shortly. 

„What I don’t get - you said they used gas. Why did it have no effect on you?“ he asked Keith, partly because he was curious, partly to keep Keith awake by making him talk.

„P-Part.. Galra, rem’embr?’“ Keith said weakly. 

„Okay, I will be back with you in a second, I’m just going to cut Shiro free, okay? Don’t pass out“ Lance said and grabbed Keith’s knife.

„T-Tryn’“ Keith replied. 

„Okay, count to ten for me, okay? Loudly“ Lance said. 

„Really?“ Keith asked, half amused. 

„Yup. I’ll start for you, okay? One“ Lance said and squeezed Keith’s hand in reassurance. 

„Two“ he said. 

„Very good, keep going!“ Lance shouted from where he had crouched down and began to cut Shiro’s hands free. 

„Th-Three“ Keith said weakly. 

„Keep going Keith“ Shiro encouraged him while Lance started to cut his feet free from the ropes. 

„Four“ Keith forced himself to say. It got harder to talk by the second. 

„Get Pidge and the others free“ Shiro said to Lance and stood up to tend to Keith. 

„Keith!“ he said as soon as he saw the extent of the wounds. 

He kneeled down and cradled Keith’s head in his lap. 

„Hey, open your eyes buddy, no sleeping yet“ Shiro urged him and lightly tapped his cheeks. 

„S-Shiro? You’ kay?“ Keith mumbled after he pried his eyes open again. 

„Yeah. You need to stay awake as long as you can. We will get you in a healing pod as soon as possible, but Coran and Allura are still knocked out. How about you try and continue counting?“ Shiro said, trying to keep his voice steady. 

He was barely able to keep it together - he had just awoken in the docking bay, had been tied up like a hog and his brother, the one who saved them from being kidnapped and probably sold off was now laying on the ground and bleeding out. 

„S-Seven“ Keith just managed to whisper before his eyes fluttered shut again. 

„What happened to five and six, huh?“ Shiro replied with a forced chuckle. 

Keith didn’t react. 

„Keith? Keith!“ Shiro exclaimed and gently shook him, but Keith didn’t react at all. 

„Shit, we need to get him to a pod right now“ Shiro said with panic in his voice turning around to look at the others. 

„I can do it. I know how the pods work“ Pidge now said while rubbing her freed wrists. 

„Can you carry him to the infirmary?“ she asked while slowly standing up herself. 

Shiro answered by picking Keith up bridal style. 

„You two go, I got this covered“ Lance said to them while cutting Coran free from the restraints. 

„Okay, let’s go“ Pidge said with a nod and went ahead. 

„Lance? What happened?“ Hunk now groaned, having heard his friend’s voice. 

„Apparently we were seconds away from being sold off to the enemy by two Galrans that tried to kidnap us and Keith saved our butts“ Lance sighed with worry etched into his voice. 

„What?“ Hunk asked confused. 

„Long story. Can you help me with Allura and Coran? They are still not waking up, maybe that gas affects them differently“ Lance said after he helped Hunk up.

„Yeah. Hey, I heard shouts before I came to - is Keith going to be okay?“ Hunk asked worriedly. 

„I hope he will“ Lance said in a grave voice, looking down to his bloodied hands and then to the dead and the tied up Galra.

###### 

„What?“ Allura asked and shot up from where she had been laid down on one of the cots in the infirmary hours later. 

„It’s okay, calm down“ Hunk said reassuringly and steadied her by gently holding her at the shoulders. 

„Why… are we in the infirmary?“ she then asked while Pidge gave Shiro a syringe. He injected the substance into Coran’s upper arm. 

The orange haired man began to stir almost immediately after. 

„The antidote is working, but you will probably feel a bit drowsy“ Pidge said, ignoring her question. 

„Antidote?“ Allura asked, confused. 

„It’s a long story“ Lance said grimly from further away. When Allura looked up at him and saw him standing in front of a pod - a pod in which Keith rested - she was even more confused and concerned. 

„Keith? Just - what happened?“ she asked worriedly. 

„It’s a long story“ Hunk said and sat down near her feet and began to tell her and also Coran, who had also fully woken up now, what had happened. 

„How could this have happened?“ Coran asked with disbelief and concern after Hunk finished. 

„I don’t know. But we owe Keith our life - and so much more. Without him… Without him, the universe would have no one to defend it anymore. Without him, the Galra Empire would have won“ Allura whispered. 

„You should rest. Maybe we all should get some rest, too. The Galra is still knocked out and tied up in a holding cell, so he won’t go anywhere“ Shiro said.

„Keith is going to come out any minute, but after that we really should get some sleep“ Lance agreed. 

As if on cue, the healing pod made a silent hiss and opened. Keith blinked a few times before he tried to make a step forward, but his knees buckled and he would have fallen to the ground if Lance hadn’t caught him. Shiro had also rushed forward and together with Lance, they were holding Keith and gently guiding him to sit on a cot. 

„Lance?“ Keith asked as soon as he was sitting. 

„Yeah, right here“ Lance said and patted his shoulder. 

„Are the others…?“ he asked. 

„We’re all okay, thanks to you“ Shiro now said. 

„Okay“ Keith sighed with relief and leaned back a bit, visibly more relaxed. 

„You scared the hell out of me. You almost bled out on us“ Lance now said. 

„Sorry. Had no other plan on how to get you free“ Keith admitted. 

„Uhm Keith - I’m sorry but your plan was freaking genius. I saw the commands you implemented and that plan was simply great. You even thought about the air ventilation“ Pidge now chimed in. 

„Yeah, don’t even think about making what you did seem like nothing. You saved us man - we owe you. Big time“ Hunk added. 

„I’m just glad they didn’t get you. Is.. Is the Galra…?“ Keith said, but Shiro answered. 

„He’s locked away. Pidge also ran all diagnostics and tripled the security standards and Hunk ran a scan on the castle to make sure nothing of unknown origin is aboard. There is nothing to worry about - just get some rest. It’s been a long night“ he said gently. 

„Okay. Thanks for saving me“ Keith said with a tired grin, allowing the exhaustion to catch up on him and laid fully down on the bed. 

„Thank you for saving us“ Lance just grinned and placed a blanket over Keith. 

For now, everything was okay - and with that and surrounded by his friends, Keith had no trouble falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> As always, I would be **really grateful for any comment** \- they are the only real measurement an author can get about how you really find their work!


End file.
